Letters From the Labyrinth 93
Hey there. I'm Brian Keene and this is Letters From the Labyrinth -- a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. Previous issues are archived here.
When I was a little kid in the 70s, there were three places I could buy comic books -- the newstand (for 35 cents each), the flea market (where back issues could be obtained at four for a quarter), and Toys-R-Us (who sold three in a sealed bag for a dollar).
By the 80s and the time I'd hit Junior High, there were two new sources -- Bud Plant's direct mail catalog, and Steve Geppi's comic book store in Baltimore. That latter, to me, was better than Disneyland.
Geppi went on to found Diamond, the sole distrubutor for comic book shops nationwide. But this isn't a political article about the pros or cons of having a distribution monopoly, and whether that's good or bad for comics. This is about Geppi's other crowning achievement -- Geppi's Entertainment Museum in Baltimore.
I've taken both my sons to the museum countless times. My youngest by is now 10, and I've taken him there at least once a year since he was 4. It was our thing, you know?
Today (Sunday) is the museum's last day of operations. It closes tonight, and its entire collection has been donated to the Library of Congress. Needless to say, we are crushed.
Last Friday, Mary and I took my youngest son to the museum for one last visit. (My oldest boy had to work, and is going to go with his girlfriend today). We spent a good five hours taking it all in, and my son said verbal goodbyes to some of his favorite displays. I bid my own farewells to some of my favorites, as well -- Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #27, the EC Comics display, the entire wall of Bronze Age Marvel and DC titles that I'd owned at one time, the display of Weird Tales and other pulps, first editions of Chambers' THE KING IN YELLOW and Wells' WAR OF THE WORLDS, various Arkham House titles, an Atari 2600 with all of the classic cartidges, G.I. Joe with Kung-Fu Grip, Mego Marvel action figures, original Star Wars action figures, and so much more.
We had a great time, but were all feeling a little sad when we left.
I never ever put pictures of my sons publicly online. I'm going to break that rule this one time, to commemorate this trip, because many of you are also parents, and also because it's my new favorite picture. Do me a favor? Don't repost it elsewhere online. Let's just keep it confined to this newsletter, okay? There's also a pic of Mary and I in front of our spirit characters, and a few of our favorite Golden Age comics.
Speaking of Baltimore, if you're in the area, don't forget to join me, Mary, Stephen Kozeniewski, and Wesley Southard for a book signing next Saturday, June 9, from noon to 3pm at Protean Books & Records 836 Leadenhall St Baltimore, MD 21230.
There will be books for sale at the event. You can also bring books from home to be signed (although we encourage you to support the store with a purchase while you are there).
The fifth annual Scares That Care Charity Weekend horror convention takes place August 3rd through August 5th at the Doubletree By Hilton 50 Kingsmill Road Williamsburg, Virginia, 23185.
With nearly a dozen different programming tracks, there are plenty of activities for horror fans no matter what your interest. Since I am responsible for setting up the programming tracks for the Authors, Podcasters, and YouTubers, what follows are the finalized programming schedules for those parts of the convention.
2018 STC AUTHOR PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
5:45pm to 6:30pm – Jay Wilburn and Wesley Southard: Reading and Q&A
6:45pm to 7:45pm – Splatterpunk: Then and Now with Matt Serafini (moderator), Elizabeth Massie, Dan Padavona, Adam Cesare, Kristopher Rufty, Patrick Lacey, and Aaron Dries
8:00pm to 8:45pm – Jeff Strand and John Wayne Comunale: Reading and Q&A
9:00pm to 10:00pm – Lost Highways with D. Alexander Ward (moderator), Rio Youers, Jonathan Janz, Rachel Deering, Kelli Owen, Robert Ford, and Matt Hayward.
10:30pm to 11:30pm – The Devil Dog Press All-Stars: Reading and Q&A
11:45pm to 1:00am – John Urbancik, Scott Cole, and J. Peter W.: Reading and Q&A
SATURDAY
10:15am to 11:00am – Russell James and C.W. Briar: Reading and Q&A
11:15am to Noon – John Boden and Patrick Freivald: Reading and Q&A
12:15pm to 1:15pm – Creative Couples with Frank Edler (moderator), Elizabeth Massie and Cortney Skinner, Jeff Strand and Lynne Hansen, C.V. Hunt and Andersen Prunty, Kelli Owen and Robert Ford.
1:30pm to 2:15pm – Jonathan Maberry and James A. Moore: Q&A
2:30pm to 3:15pm – Jonathan Janz and Dan Padavona: Reading and Q&A
3:30pm to 4:15pm – Kevin Lucia and Jacob Haddon: Reading and Q&A
4:30pm to 5:15pm – Elizabeth Massie and Kristopher Rufty: Reading and Q&A
5:30pm to 6:15pm – Robert Ford and Rio Youers: Reading and Q&A
6:30pm to 7:15pm – Ralph Bieber and Michelle Bryan: Reading and Q&A
7:30pm to 8:30pm – Crossing Genres with Armand Rosamilia (moderator), Jonathan Maberry, Ronald Malfi, James A. Moore, Stephen Kozeniewski, Chuck Buda, Tim Meyer, and Kevin Lucia
8:45pm to 9:45pm – Welcome To The Show with Matt Hayward (moderator), Jeff Strand, Mary SanGiovanni, Rachel Deering, Matt Serafini, Adam Cesare, Glenn Rolfe, Patrick Lacey, and Somer Canon
10:00pm to 10:45pm – Stephen Kozeniewski and Somer Canon: Reading and Q&A
11:00pm to 11:45pm – Patrick Lacey and Aaron Dries: Reading and Q&A
Midnight to 1:00am – Christian Jensen, Christoph Paul and Eric Hendrixson: Reading and Q&A
SUNDAY
11:00am to 11:45am – Chris Philbrook and T.J. O’Connor: Reading and Q&A
Noon to 12:45pm – Amber Fallon and Glenn Rolfe: Reading and Q&A
1:00pm to 1:45pm – The Horror Writers Association Virginia Chapter: Reading and Q&A
2:00pm to 2:45pm – Chuck Buda and Tim Meyer: Reading and Q&A
3:00pm to 4:00pm – Ask an Author with Jonathan Maberry, Mary SanGiovanni, Ronald Malfi, Rio Youers, James A. Moore, John Urbancik, and Rachel Deering
2018 STC PODCAST & YOUTUBE PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
6:00pm to 7:00pm: BIG SCARY SHOW
7:30pm to 8:30pm: THREE GUYS WITH BEARDS
9:00pm to 10:00pm: DARK DISCUSSIONS
10:30pm to 11:30pm: THE HORROR SHOW WITH BRIAN KEENE with special guest John Anderson
Midnight to 1:00am: WE BELONG DEAD
SATURDAY
10:30am to 11:30am: YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME
Noon to 1:00pm: ALL YOU NEED IS BLOOD
1:30pm to 3:00pm: THE 35th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BRITISH VIDEO NASTY LIST with Elizabeth Katheryn Gray and Erin Marie Showalter (Archivists Bet On Sexy Witches), Token Tommy Clark (The Necrocasticon), Amie Tobin-Davis (After Dark Analysis), Richie Yates (We Belong Dead), and Adam Cesare
3:30pm to 4:30pm: BIZZONG! THE BIZARRE & WEIRD FICTION PODCAST
5:00pm to 6:00pm: AFTER DARK ANALYSIS
6:30pm to 7:30pm: YOUR NEW OPINION
7:30pm to 10:00pm: CLOSED FOR COSTUME CONTEST STAGING
10:30pm to 11:30pm: THE NECROCASTICON
Midnight to 1:00am: WE BELONG DEAD
SUNDAY
11:00am to Noon: MATTERS OF FAITH
12:30pm to 1:30pm: THE MANDO METHOD
2:00pm to 3:00pm: THE IMAGINARIUM WITH SCOTT AND TOD
3:15pm to 4:00pm: BUTTERCUP OF DOOM FINALE
A new, bizarre spider-like creature has just been discovered in Southeast Asia, having been encased in amber during the Cretaceous period some 100 million years ago.
No, that's not a joke. It's not fake news. Science have proven the existence of CLICKERS!
Click here to read the article.
Somewhere on another plane of quantam existence, J.F. Gonzalez is laughing his ass off.
That's it for this week. As always:
PATREON - Where I post new short stories, writing advice essays, a serialized ongoing novel, and behind-the-scenes stuff.
TWITTER - The only social media outlet I still use regularly.
See you back here next week.